Physical Therapy Clinical Education

Clinical Education is designed to provide opportunities for students to apply the knowledge they have acquired in the classroom working with patients in the clinical setting.

Students participate in four full-time experiences for a total of 36 weeks of the curriculum.

PHYT 7133: Clinical Education I (7 weeks, 280 clinic hours) is an introductory clinical experience following successful completion of the first three semesters of didactic work. The experience occurs during the last half of the third semester. The student performs the elements of patient/client management with an emphasis on musculoskeletal dysfunction in an outpatient/ambulatory care setting. 

PHYT 7231: Clinical Education II (7 weeks, 280 clinic hours) occurs during the sixth semester. The student performs the elements of patient/client management with an emphasis on the musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary and integumentary systems and begins application of basic neuroscience principles in an acute care setting.

PHYT 7232: Clinical Education III (7 weeks, 280 clinic hours) occurs during the sixth semester. The student performs the elements of patient/client management with an emphasis on the neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary and integumentary systems in a rehabilitation setting with a focus on neurologic dysfunction. Development and delivery of a clinical in-service presentation is required. 

PHYT 7332: Clinical Education IV (15 weeks, 600 clinic hours) is the final course of the curriculum and occurs during the eighth semester. Students have the opportunity to apply all knowledge, skills and abilities gained throughout the curriculum in a variety of settings. Focus on a specialty area is permitted.
 

We have contracts with 300+ facilities across the United States predominantly in the southern states and many sites in other regions including, but not limited to, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming.

If your facility/clinic is interested in partnering with UTC, or you have questions regarding clinical education, please email Dr. Carolyn Blair Padalino, Director of Clinical Education.

We recognize, appreciate, and are humbled by the extraordinary commitment that our clinical partners make in coming alongside our program, providing excellent clinical education experiences. The commitment of individuals, clinic sites, companies, and organizations to the development of students as leaders in the physical therapy profession continues to be evident with each passing year.